Deep Water by William Douglas Questions & Answers

Class XII:  Book Flamingo

3. Lesson: Deep Water by William Douglas (Notes made by Shish Pal Chauhan: My YouTube Channel: Shish Pal Chauhan Yamuna Nagar)

Part A (Short Answer-type Questions (Word Limit 25-40 words each)

Q1. Why did William Douglas select Y.M.C.A. pool, not the river Yakima to learn swimming? What is the full form of Y.M.C.A.?

Ans. He did not want to learn swimming in the river Yakima because his mother had already told him about the risks of being drowned in it. Then he decided to join  Y.M.C.A. pool. It was safe for the author to learn swimming. It was two to three feet deep at one end while it was nine feet deep at the other end. The slope from one end to the other was gradual in the pond. The full form of Y.M.C.A. is Young Men Christian Association.                                                                                    [Or      Swimming is such a type of habit that attracts all who love adventures in life. The writer also had a strong desire to learn how to swim. So he joined the Y. M.C.A.  (Young Men Christian Association)  pool in order to materialize his wish. Secondly, it was two to three feet deep at the shallow end and nine feet deep at the other end. So it was safe for the learners.]

Q2.Describe the writer’s fearful experience when he was of three or four years.

Ans. One day his father took him to the beach in California. Both of them stood in waves. The author was clinging to his father. Then a powerful wave came and took the author away from his father. He was buried in water and his breath was almost gone. His father was laughing, but yet the fear for water had taken birth in the author’s mind.

Q3.What and why did the big boy of 18 do with the writer one day at Y.M.C.A. pool? How did he look?   Or  What is the misadventure that William Douglas speaks about?

Ans. One day, he was alone at the pool. Then a boy a boy of eighteen reached there. He had thick hair on his chest. He said a few words to the writer, picked him up and threw towards the deep end of the pond. He was not ready for such a sudden throw. He went down to the bottom of the pond.

Q4. What did the writer think to do at first when he was thrown by a boy of 18?  What did he hope at that time?       Or   What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was thrown into the pool?  What  plan did he make to come to the surface?

Ans. He experienced hope and despair, life and death when he was dropped in to the deep water of the pool by a boy of eighteen. He planned to touch the bottom of the pond with his toes and then spring up with his full might. Then he would lay flat on the surface of the water and come to the bank by paddling in water.

Q5. How did the writer feel when he stopped all efforts to save himself in the pool?

Ans. At last the writer left all efforts to save himself. The writer tells us that he felt relieved of all the tension, struggle and worries. It was so peaceful to leave everything to God: It was quiet and peaceful. There was no panic, no fear of death. He became unconscious.

Q6. What did the writer remember when he came to sense after the misadventure at the pool?

Ans. When he came to senses, he found himself lying on his stomach at the bank of the pond. He was vomiting. The boy who had thrown him was saying, “I was only fooling.” Someone was saying, “The kid nearly died.”

Q7. What was the effect of the misadventure at the pool on the writer?

Ans. The misadventure at the pool had a very deep impact on the psyche of the writer. It was not less than any nightmare to him. That night he could not eat anything, nor did he sleep properly. After that the fear of water kept haunting his mind whenever he tried to do fishing or bathe in the warm water of a lake.

Q8. What did the writer do to overcome his fear of water after he had experienced a nightmare at the Y. M. C. A. pool?

 Ans. The desire to learn swimming was prominent in his mind.  To overcome the fear of entering water, he hired a wise instructor to train him properly. He himself also did a lot of efforts to erase it from his mind.

Q9. What special method did the instructor apply on the writer to teach him swimming?

Ans. The instructor used all security measures for the writer. He tied a belt around him. A rope was also attached to the belt. The rope was attached to a pulley which ran on a cable overhead.  Thus he was able to practise swimming safely.

Q10. The writer says, “The instructor was finished. But I was not finished?” Why?

Ans. Finally in April, his instructor said that he could swim of his own.  The instructor’s job was finished. But still, the author lacked in full confidence. He would get filled with the old fear when he was alone at the pool. But he did not give in. He continued his exercises. He did this for four months.

Q11. When did Douglas make sure that he had conquered the old terror?

Ans. Once he camped by the side of the Warm Lake to become fully confident of swimming. He dived into the Lake. He swam from one shore to the other. Now he had defeated his fear. He shouted with joy.

Q12. What deep conclusions did the writer draw from his various experiences of swimming?

Ans.The writer learnt a great lesson by his experience of swimming. He came to know that there is great peace in death. But there is a great terror in the fear of death. Once Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.” The need is to defeat the fear.

Q13. What was the impact of the incident of being thrown into the deep water of Y. M. C. A. pool on the author’s mind immediately after he came to senses?

Ans. When the author came to senses, he took several hours to recover. Then he walked home. He was weak and his legs were trembling. He shook and cried when he lay on bed. That night he could eat nothing and many days the terrible fear gripped his mind. He started fearing water. He did not go to that pond again. 

Part B (Long Answer-type Qs)

Q1. How did the writer finally overcome the fear of water and became a successful swimmer?

Ans. Although, the author had training for swimming, yet he was a victim of the old fear of water. He would get filled with the old fear when he was alone at the pool. But he did not give in. He continued his exercises. He did this for four months. To test himself, he went to the Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire. He swam two miles across the lake. He put his face under water and saw nothing but bottomless water. The fear came to his find for a short time. He overpowered it very soon.

Once he camped by the side of the Warm Lake to become fully confident of swimming. He dived into the Lake. He swam from one shore to the other. Now he had defeated his fear. He shouted with joy. The writer learnt a great lesson by his experience of swimming. He came to know that there is great peace in death. But there is a great terror in the fear of death. Once Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.”

Q2.How does Douglas describe the panic that gripped him as he was almost drowned? What makes the description so vivid?         Or When the writer was thrown by a big boy of 18 into the Y.M.C.A. pool, what plans did he make to come to the surface of the water? Did he succeed? How did that incident affect Douglas?

Ans. After being thrown into the deep water of the pool, the author decided to hit the bottom with a big force to spring up at the surface of the water.  As he touched the bottom of the pond, he tried to spring up with full might (force). But the pressure of the water did not allow him to come up at once at the water surface. He felt as if his lungs would burst.

He tried to bring his legs up to make a jump upwards, but a force was pulling him back towards the bottom of the pool again. He had lost his breath. His lungs were aching and he was going down slowly. A terror of death gripped his mind. At last he felt the tiles under his feet. He tried to spring up and strangely he was coming up to the surface of the water. There was light and his nose and mouth were almost out of water.

Then the water took him down for the third time. He took a long breath to suck in oxygen, but water went in his stomach. He had no strength to struggle for life. Now he left everything to the Almighty God.

Q3. How did the instructor build a swimmer out of Douglas?

Ans. In October, he decided to hire an instructor to learn swimming without fear. He went to the pool with his instructor. He practised for one hour daily in five-day week. The instructor used all security measures for the writer. He tied a belt around him. A rope was also attached to the belt. The rope was attached to a pulley which ran on a cable overhead. Thus he was able to practise swimming safely. The instructor would relax the hold for the author to go down in deep water. Sometimes he felt the old fear, but slowly he overcame that old feeling of fear. He practiced to put his head down in water and exhale and also to inhale while keeping the head up. Then the instructor told him to use legs while swimming. Finally in April, his instructor said that he could swim of his own.  The instructor’s job was finished. After that he continued swimming of his own although the fear still haunted his mind. Once he camped by the side of the Warm Lake to become fully confident of swimming. He dived into the Lake. He swam from one shore to the other. Now he had defeated his fear. He shouted with joy.